Flag circular withdrawn under pressure from BJP, RSS: Omar

Jammu: Hitting out at the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government over the flag row, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday alleged that it had withdrawn a circular on maintaining the sanctity of the Jammu and Kashmir flag under pressure from ally BJP and RSS.

"What was the necessity to issue a curricular by the government. We learnt that they had to do it because of the court. May be this order was a majburi (compulsion). If they had issued it, why then did they withdraw it," he said here.

"What was the compulsion for the government to withdraw it. Had the call come from Nagpur (where RSS is headquartered). I cannot understand the reason for the withdrawal," added the former J-K chief minister.

"If in haste you issued the circular and later withdrew it, there might have been a phone call you got from somewhere. Was it Nagpur... Delhi or Jandhawala... it might have come from some where?

Within a day of issuing it, the J-K government on March 13 withdrew an order on the state flag after drawing the ire of Congress even though PDP's alliance partner BJP had downplayed the issue.

The state government had also said that appropriate administrative action would be taken after an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the issuance of the circular.

The circular had enjoined all the constitutional authorities to maintain the sanctity of the J-K state flag as is done in respect of the Union Flag.

Slamming the remarks by J-K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh about internal sabotage, Omar said, "You spoke about an inquiry... there is no need for it. I have been in charge of GAD, I know the order is issued only once it is vetted at the top. Anybody can apply for an RTI and get details as to who had signed it."